Coherent light from lasers has been used as a heat source in some limited applications. For example, a laser beam has been used to heat a glass preform so that the glass may be extruded into a particular shape as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,564. Also, laser beams have been deflected to burn or etch a particular pattern on a surface as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,387,109; 3,949,409; 3,967,285; and 4,049,945. Laser beam deflection for other limited purposes also has been accomplished as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,465,347; 3,558,208; 3,931,593; and 4,074,203.
Prior art deflection devices have used focusing devices rather than reflective ones. Often to achieve a particular pattern, expensive electrical or mechanical rotating devices have been employed, as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,564. Such devices are not only expensive but also subject to frequent malfunctions.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an apparatus to spread coherent light so that the spread beam of coherent light can be controlled with respect to energy intensity. Another object of this invention is to provide a deflected beam of coherent light which projects near linear pattern with a near uniform energy distribution on a flat target surface. A further object of the invention is to project the desired amount of electromagnetic energy at a selected frequency for a selected time period to effect the desired chemical reaction in the medium exposed to that energy. It is a further advantage of this invention that deflection of the coherent light into a ribbon-like pattern facilitates the simple calculation of exposure doses and power output with respect to such variables as coherent light frequency, target distance and time.
It is a further object of this invention to use a deformable reflective surface or reflector element placed in an adjustable frame to deflect the coherent light beam.
Other objects of this invention will appear from the following description and the appended claims.